


nobody told you this is gonna fold you

by Cirkne



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Getting Together, M/M, Spin the Bottle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 22:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17475779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cirkne/pseuds/Cirkne
Summary: Grown men play drunken spin the bottle and Richard has some realizations in the process.





	nobody told you this is gonna fold you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShallowJaney](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShallowJaney/gifts).



> this is my sv winter exchange gift for Janey! I hope you like it and I hope winter's treating you well <3
> 
> title from ever after by marianas trench

Richard, still buzzing slightly even though it’s been a minute since he’s refilled his glass, thinks he’s been here before. A song he doesn’t recognize playing just a little too loud for his liking, his body, somehow, light and heavy at the same time, his eyes tired. He went to exactly one party with alcohol in high school and then a handful in college. The couch he’s either too comfortable or too drunk to move from, the drunken laughter of the people around him. They’ve been drunk together before. He wonders what’s changed to fill him with nostalgia. 

“Okay, students, listen up,” Erlich announces. There’s a wet stain on his shirt from where Dinesh spilled beer on him a moment ago. “A good host notices when a party’s winding down and comes up with a new way to entertain the guests. So, we’re playing spin the bottle. And it’s not a suggestion, it’s a command.”

There’s a moment before Jian Yang stands up, says:

“No,” and walks out of the room.

“Whatever,” Erlich says to hide the obvious offense he’s taken at someone in the incubator not listening to him. “Gilfoyle?” he asks like he knows the others will only agree once they get confirmation Gilfoyle doesn’t think it’s stupid. Which, yeah, fair. No one likes being made fun of by him. 

“Sure,” Gilfoyle answers and takes out his phone to presumably text Tara about this. Erlich grins, downs the nearest bottle of beer and lays it down on the floor. 

The front door of the house closes. Richard thinks Jian Yang decided to continue getting drunk somewhere he doesn’t have to kiss people he lives with. Good for him.

“You’re not gonna ask the rest of us?” Dinesh. Though he doesn’t move to get up from where he’s laying on the floor so most of the spins will land on him.

“You can have first spin,” Erlich waves. “Richard, Big Head, get on the floor. Jared…,” and he squints, slightly. “I say everyone gets one veto.” Jared, rather than look offended just looks happy he’s being included. Richard nudges Dinesh to get him to sit up and make space for him. 

Nelson sits down right in front of Richard. If they get to kiss Richard needs to run his fingers through Nelson’s hair, just to know what it’s like. He’s wondered since college. Okay, false. He’s wondered since high school when Nelson first grew his hair out that long. He’s longed to find out since college. Nelson used to replace Richard’s empty red bull cans with new ones and poke his ribs when Richard would get so lost in the code he’d stop answering. He also used to talk in his sleep and agree to any movie Richard picked for them and get his jokes the way none of the few girls Richard had gone out with did. 

Somewhere in the midst of him thinking about all of that, Dinesh has passed the honor of first spin to Jared. He looks almost like he doesn’t know what to do. It lands on Richard and Nelson, being the good friend he is, decides to refill Richard’s glass. 

“Oh, veto,” Jared says and before he elaborates Richard feels a twinge of hurt. “I can’t kiss Richard, obviously, he’s my boss.” 

That only half makes sense since he’s the boss of half of the people in the room but rather than argue he spins and lands on Gilfoyle.

“Lucky for you, Dick, I don’t answer to anyone,” Gilfoyle says, way too pleased with himself and pulls Richard in for a kiss. He’s a good kisser but instead of making the kiss enjoyable it just makes Richard wonder if he himself is any good. Gilfoyle makes a _mm_ sound once they pull away that probably means he’s at least not horrible and Nelson hands him back his now refilled glass. 

Gilfoyle gets Jared and then Jared gets him back. On his second spin Gilfoyle vetoes Erlich, earning a glare and spins again before Erlich can do it, getting Dinesh. It’s interesting seeing them kiss since they look way too gentle for how aggressive they are with each other. Dinesh gets Nelson and Richard fights down the jealousy he feels in his throat of all places.

Maybe the nostalgia he feels is not at all related to the other parties he’s attended. Maybe it’s Nelson. His warm eyes. His laugh. His proximity to Richard. It’s not that they couldn’t be apart, obviously, they were never those friends and everything that’s happened with Pied Piper and how it’s pushed them away from each other is just proof they were always capable of dealing with distance. It’s that there’s never been a reason for it before so they’ve built themselves around each other. 

Nelson never wanted anyone else. He’d go on dates and then shrug them off like it didn’t really matter to him if they were leading anywhere. It drove Richard crazy because he couldn’t fathom not overthinking things. He wonders if subconsciously it also made him feel better. 

He decides he no longer wants to play once Dinesh and Nelson are done with their kiss. Erlich says something that’s probably an insult and Richard decides he should go outside before getting to his room just to sober up a bit. 

He crosses his legs on one of the pool chairs and listens to the footsteps coming to join him. He figures Jared but gets to see Nelson sit down next to him.

“You’re not going to play?” Richard asks and bites down on the inside of his lip once he realizes how freaked out he sounds. Has tonight really presented him with a revelation this big? Has he not always known, at least on some level?

“It’s not fun without you,” Nelson smiles like the implications of what he just said don’t have the power to kill Richard. 

“Oh?” he goes. His lips feel very dry all of a sudden 

“Yeah.” And Nelson’s hand is on Richard’s wrist for some reason. “Let’s play something. With all the training I get now that I’m not actually working I can easily beat you at Mortal Combat.”

Richard snorts and follows him inside. 

The game has dispensed in the short time they were outside. Erlich is explaining something about good party hosts to Jared in the kitchen. Both Gilfoyle and Dinesh are nowhere to be seen. Presumably both about to pass out in their bedrooms. 

They boot up the game and take maybe ten seconds to pick their fighters. Nelson’s better, sure, but he’s also drunker than Richard so he doesn’t win as easily as he said he would. 

By the time both Erlich and Jared have retired to their rooms and Richard and Nelson have finished playing, it’s 3am. 

“Guess I should call a Lyft,” Nelson says putting his controller down on the floor and in a daze of exhaustion and fear that he might never get the chance again, Richard leans in and kisses him. 

Nelson makes a noise of surprise but kisses back, more tenderly than Richard would have ever thought. Moments later his hands end up in Nelson’s hair and he can’t help but grin into the kiss, pull him closer. Later, Nelson in his lap, he’ll wonder why he couldn’t have done it sooner but for now his timing feels perfect.


End file.
